


What the hell is wrong with this century?

by DropsOfJupiterOnARavenclaw



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst and Humor, Falling In Love, Idiots in Love, Liberal Steve Rogers, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Mutual Pining, Oblivious, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pining, Politics, Slow Burn, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-11
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-10-07 11:50:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17365403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DropsOfJupiterOnARavenclaw/pseuds/DropsOfJupiterOnARavenclaw
Summary: Some idiot talk show host has a completely wrong impression about who Steve is and tries to spread his misconception. Steve and Bucky decide to correct him in a way he won't forget and speak publicly about what they have actually been fighting for all this time. They learn more about each other along the way.Tony finds the whole situation very amusing.(If Bucky had stayed with Steve after Winter Soldier and turned out fine)





	1. Chapter 1

"....Here today with no other than the Winter Soldier and Captain America himself! It is a huge honor."

They were sitting in comfortable armchairs on stage in a big studio. Several cameras pointed at them.   
The audience of about 200 people clapped and cheered so loudly one could have thought they had all hit the million dollar jackpot right this second.  
Bucky and Steve exchanged a short glance. They had agreed to make this as uncomfortable for the host as they could, and they'd start with that right away. Bucky held his head high in defiance, his eyes were cold and he didn't wait a second to interrupt.  
"-Sergeant James Barnes, not the Winter Soldier." He spoke clearly, with emphasis on the word 'not'. No mercy for bigotry, not today, he decided, mustering the man opposite to him.   
The audience had trouble deciding how to react, some laughed, others were still cheering, Bucky tuned them out either way. His icy look still directed at the man. 

White. About fifty years old. 5,8 tall. Christian. Expensive shoes and suit but badly color coordinated, probably has no significant woman in his life, Bucky thought. Greying hair that had been cheaply dyed black, as if someone had dumped a bucket of paint over his head and then cleaned off the edges. Clearly the type of man who saw himself as above doing anything with his own hands, who had never heard 'no' from anyone. Bucky disliked him more with every observation. He wanted to stop, but he couldn't help it. It was a soldiers habit, 'observe in time or die. Always be ahead', the details and facts didn't stop rushing down on him, none of them were nice. It must have been showing on his face because Steve shot him a worried look.  
"Excuse me?" the host looked startled and mildly uncomfortable, a fake smile plastered over his aging face. Reminding himself that he couldn't lose his temper under any circumstances Bucky continued as calmly as he could,  
"Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes, please refer to me by my military rank," he spoke with authority in every word topping it off with a provoking smile, "I am not here as the Winter Soldier but as my real self. You see, quite some time has passed since the brainwashing has been undone. In case it is difficult to tell the difference; I can assure you if you were talking to the Winter Soldier it would be the last talking you ever did." Internally he smirked, satisfied with his own answer. That should have thrown the coward of his rhythm.

"Of course, my apologies, Sergeant," was the stuttered answer they got,  
"Umm, let us get started with the most obvious question; What made you decide to finally address the public?"   
Playing it civil for the first few questions, fine.  
This time Steve spoke first, very evidently trying his best to ignore the camera in front of him, he quietly cleared his throat, "Well, that's fairly easy to answer to be honest," he smiled at the people in the audience, "It took us some time to get used to this new century and neither of us had thought we'd be remembered or in any way of interest for the public so all that attention came rather unexpected," he glanced over at Bucky who took the hint and chimed in,  
"And for a long time we seemed to fall from one catastrophe to the next," he spoke earnestly, "I was still trying to remember who I was and really, how were we supposed to address the public? We didn't know much we could have told them and when you have nothing important to say you might as well say nothing at all," that scary, icy authority had almost vanished from his voice, the people listening had after all done him no wrong.  
"Our opinion on many things wouldn't have been any good since we had a lot to catch up on," Steve confirmed.  
"And that has changed?" The host appeared to think himself in safety, back on known terrain.  
Ever polite and still smiling, Steve went on, "More with every day. I am glad to see how much our nation has improved over the last years but we also have a long way to go."   
Bucky tried not to chuckle, that was Captain America speaking, Mr. Freedom and Liberty himself. It almost was as if he could hear the national anthem being played in the background.  
Now it was the host who wore a winning smirk, eagerly asking on, "What do you mean by that? I mean, we all know about the newest, worrying political developments but-" Steve interrupted him. Bucky almost felt like cheering him on, it was too funny to watch.   
"That's exactly what I've been talking about," Steve said, damn he was good at playing this game, Bucky thought as his friend continued with a flawless poker face, "It's been 80 years. 80. And there is still racism. Civilians still carry guns. Even worse, those guns are much more efficient, more bullets in less time and you barely have to know anything to use them. Yet there are people who honestly think applying laws from over a century ago to our current situation is smart. This isn't freedom, it's fighting fire with fire."   
There was a spark in his eyes as he spoke those last words and it made Bucky's heart flutter. That, he thought, was the real Captain America. The one most people didn't get to see. The one who was actually just Steve Rogers in a costume.  
"But?" The host had gone pale, his voice an octave higher than before.  
Cutting him short again Bucky said, "No 'but', take it from the guys who were already fighting for freedom more than 80 years ago; this isn't it."   
Steve nodded, "Which brings me to another thing I wanted to talk about, he shot their interviewer a stern look. "I found a few very....interesting tweets of yours online, all claiming to be in my interest. Do you have something to say about that? About your tweets in my name? There appear to be quiet a few," Steve said, watching the man squirm in his chair.  
With widening eyes tge man replied, "What? But that's what your opinions were supposed to be-" he seemed to have found his voice again. Great. Bucky rolled his eyes before putting his smirk back on, destroying that illusion would be fun.  
He flashed the audience a bright smile, despite still tuning them out noise-wise, as if to say 'do you hear this crazy guy?' Then he turned back, still smiling. He scoffed "Now that is just hilarious, this guy is a raging liberal. More often than not literally raging," he winked at Steve who blushed furiously. "You really would have done good to open a history book and check what we were actually fighting for, 'cause this isn't it."

Steve seemed amused at Buckys' delight but didn't comment on it, probably saving that for later, he went on, "How did you even get the impression you knew my political views? On things that wouldn't have been possible during my time on top of that? When I first read some of your tweets about me I was convinced they were an ill-timed, bad joke", he sounded truly unbelieving, "But let's go in order. Buck?" 

They had roughly gone over that part the night before  
This was the part of the interview that would cause headlines that Pepper wasn't going to be happy about. 

Bucky cleared his throat and pulled out his phone, going straight to the screenshots he had taken of some of the tweets in question. With a steady, only mildly amused voice, he began to read.  
"Tweet number one:   
Schools are asking for more money for art supplies. As if those little snowflake artist children don't already get enough attention. That's how you ruin a child for the real world. What about our sports teams? What would Captain America think?" He dramatically exaggerated the last part, just to make it sound even more stupid. Steve looked as if he was somewhere between laughing and slapping the guy in front of him for documenting such utter bullshit.

He took a deep steadying breath and began explaining extra slowly like he was talking to a little kid. An ignorant, bratty, mean little kid.   
"Ok, first of all, the art thing is just ridiculous, that would only have required the most superficial bit of research. I sold drawings to newspapers for a living at one point for god's sake. How do you expect new inventions on any field to happen without supporting creativity? And what do funds for art students have to do with sports teams? Those won't lose any money just because others are getting some too."   
He grimaced, "there is literally nothing bad about some art kids getting support, why would you portray that to be negative? And pull me into it? That doesn't have anything to do with me at all or with you for that matter."  
Suddenly Bucky felt sympathetically bad for Steve, dealing with stupidity like this really wasn't his job and was clearly draining his energy. He shouldn't be in that position, especially not to clear his own name. He sighed, this wasn't entertaining any longer but he read out the next tweet anyways.

"Tweet number two:   
Poor people need to stop blaming others and start to work, we shouldn't have to pay other peoples health insurance! They need to work harder to afford their own! Captain America would disapprove!

Seeing the pained expression in Steves' eyes he decided to cut it short. There was no reason to make themselves suffer longer than necessary. He hoped Steve wouldn't mind and went on to read out the next tweet immediately instead of giving him time to answer.  
The audience was stunned into silence, this surely wasn't what they had expected. Whatever it was they had expected Bucky could only guess. He cleared his throat,  
"And wait, it gets even better. Here we go, tweet number three.  
This wall is the best thing that could happen to America! Get rid of the immigrants ruining our country! This is not what Captain America fought for!" 

Steves jaw clenched tightly. If he hadn't already read that tweet the night before, Bucky was certain the show host would regret ever having learned how to write come morning.

"And lastly, Tweet number four:   
I wish the good manners from Captain Americas time still existed. When women still knew their place was in the kitchen and not in politics."

Steve immediately began speaking this time around, now fueled by newly found anger and his omnipresent sense for justice.

"Okay, one after the other. First of all, me? In favor of building a wall? Taking rights away from immigrants and not offering help to the poor or sick?   
You do realize that I grew up with chronic health problems like asthma as an Irish immigrant in America? With no money whatsoever and in constant need of expensive medication? As the son of a single mother in a tiny apartment in Brooklyn before it was a nice area? Hell, we didn't even have heating in winter for god's sake!  
My mother worked all she could to bring us through but as a woman in that time there weren't many jobs available for her." He swallowed heavily, those thematics would always get him to lose his temper. "And those that were didn't pay very well.   
Needless to say, I, like every decent human being, think that women should have equal rights," he appeared to need a second to calm himself and glanced away, falling silent for a moment, "What about you Buck?" He asked, clearly trying to get a moment to order his thoughts.   
Bucky had a nervous flutter in his chest, he wasn't nearly as good at impromptu speeches as his friend but wasn't about to let Steve down either. He hadn't expected to speak about this, still, it shouldn't be too difficult. He did very much agree with Steve after all. Trying to concentrate he remembered a conversation he had had with Steve a very long time ago. Almost in a different life, about his sister Rebecca, and suddenly he had a whole lot to say.

"I grew up with two sisters, seeing how casually they got mistreated from an early age. That was one of the things I was convinced would have changed when I started understanding this time," he paused trying not to sound too upset, "I've rarely been as disappointed as I was when I saw that that wasn't the case. Women can lead and work and think just as well as any men could, they are usually just too polite to point it out when a man is feeling superior," he smiled faintly at the memory of his ever polite sister and glanced over at Steve who gave him a knowing look.   
Steve had always liked Rebecca and must have guessed from whose memory Buckys' sudden emotion came. Or maybe Steve was thinking about Sarah Rogers still. Or about Peggy Carter? It didn't matter, they all were strong and independent and had deserved more than they got out of life. If this was the only way to do them justice they sure as hell wouldn't let it pass. 

Steve now seemed to know what else to say. Bucky smiled sadly, really he was lucky to have had that amount of amazing people in his life, even if Steve was the only one who remained.  
"Go ahead Stevie."  
Steve nodded slightly, now completely calm again, "So, both of us, liberal feminists -"

Annoyingly the old host appeared to have found his voice again as well, "But women are the weaker sex, too emotional, can't think and you two are real men, war heroes, you shouldn't think that-" he screeched and cursed like a scratched up vinyl record, stuck on the same old, ugly melody.   
"We have been fighting for human rights our entire lifes.  
Before I became Captain America, when I was just a boy in Brooklyn with barely any chances in life, I would have told you the same thing. I would have fought for the same thing," Steve was in full on speech mode again, the type that reminded you just who he was and made it impossible to interrupt him. He had no mercy in his voice as he talked over the show host once again, "Heck, not would have, I did. I fought all the time, every chance I got, for what I knew was right. Now you probably think that that's heroic or something, that it's what you'd expect from me," he faced the audience for a second, "but in reality, it was just stupid," he concluded bitterly.   
Bucky raised an eyebrow, he would have never expected Steve to admit to that.   
"You have to remember, that was the time before I was made into a super soldier, I couldn't fight for shit and yet I did. All because I desperately believed in the good things in life, in what's right. I thought what I saw was as obvious as the sky is blue and yet no one else seemed to see it. And I couldn't change that because let's be honest, who would have listened to me? So I was just so angry all the time at things bigger than me," he shook his head at some memory playing out behind his eyes, only visible to him.   
"Every other week Bucky rescued me from being killed in some back alley for having called out the wrong guy."  
Bucky could practically see Steves' mood spiraling downwards into a pit of chosen guilt and pain about the world's mistakes. He took a shaky breath and playfully interrupted Steve before things got too dark.  
"Every other week? Every week. At least twice," he joked. It seemed to have worked, Steve looked up and the shadow over his features lifted. Not completely, but enough for the sun to shine through.   
He smiled just the tiniest bit and looked at Bucky as he spoke on, "As you can tell, he saved my life a lot when we were younger. More often then I am proud to admit because of my bad temper. On other occasions, however...," his voice was quiet but still strong, still attention-grabbing. The room was utterly silent and Bucky couldn't help but wonder in what direction Steve was going with this.   
"There were many times when I was deadly sick and too broke to afford the medicine. Those were the times when he saved my life in a much more quiet way and it must have cost him his last nerve, working extra shift after extra shift to afford my medicine. I will never be able to make up for that. Never once did I think I was worth it. But in a very literal way, he also was the only reason I even tried to survive."  
Without thinking or caring how it sounded, Bucky countered the statement immediately, "Never once did I think you weren't worth it." He swallowed heavily, this wasn't something Bucky had heard before, not in this context.   
At the time Steve had always insisted he'd be fine without the medicine and Bucky had gone to buy it anyway because he couldn't stand to see his friend suffer. A cold and hot shiver ran down his spine. He had known that Steve was lying about his health all the time but maybe he still had underestimated how badly off he actually was. A lump formed in his throat and he thanked fate itself for making those extra shifts possible.   
And then that comment about how he had only wanted to stay alive because of him? That couldn't be right, it just couldn't be because every other possibility was too painful to even consider.  
Steve looked back at the audience,  
"I know it is not what you want to hear about the hero you see me as, but this hero without a past doesn't exist. To understand me, you have to know where I came from, and that I do what I do and think what I think for a reason."  
Clearly Steve wanted to change the subject and go on with his speech but Bucky couldn't let go what he had just learned,  
"Stevie, never once did I think you weren't worth it," he repeated unsure if it had carried the first time and with a need to be heard that usually didn't belong to him, "hell, you were all the good I had in my life. I'd be damned if I hadn't fought to keep you,-" and there were many more things he would have liked to say about just how important Steve was to him.   
How could he still be underestimating the value he held to Buckys' heart, after all this time? It almost hurt to think of it like that. As if Bucky had failed to tell Steve every chance he got how much he meant to him. He didn't get a chance to voice any of that thanks to the old interviewer who seemed to have finally lost it. Maybe it was for the better, they were in front of a live audience after all. An audience that was already looking at them more than strangely. Shit.

"-This is an outrage! You can't be liberal, you are the symbol of what America stands for!"  
Steve laughed. Outright laughed, not in his usual beautiful manner but as if there was a bitter irony only he could see.  
"America stands for freedom, not for old cowards afraid of change. And if you ever again dare to assume you know what I think-"

The guy really had the nerve to rage on. Not only that but to interrupt Captain America so he could rage on. This man really was a narcissist if there had ever been one.   
"-You don't seem to think at all, you're just another weak, helpless idealist! You are no hero, you have been given all your power by other people and now you use it to betray their ideals!"  
How on earth did the man have the audacity to even imply that Steve was only a hero for his powers? Sure they were a part of it, but certainly not all there was.

"He is a hero for the choices he made and how he used his powers. They were given to him for a reason. If it had been anyone else there is a good chance you wouldn't have any hero at all. Don't you dare insult him again. Your miserable hateful existence will never be anything compared to the good he has done," Bucky didn't yell but his voice was dangerously low. There would never be a day when he wouldn't protect Steve, whether Steve needed it or not. Needed him or not, Bucky realized with a sting to his heart.

When he continued, it might have been his Captain America voice, but it was Steve Rogers speaking,  
"My point is, this world has enough real problems: war, hunger, illness, children growing up without any kind of education... and yet some of us find the time to push blame around and spread hate.   
What does it do for you anyway? To make life miserable for others who you've never met? Hate people who you have no right to even judge?   
Does women and immigrants having rights take rights away from you? Would life being safer without guns for plenty of people make life less safe for you?   
Does people liking who they like and living there life effect you in any way at all?   
Do you think I would have ever accomplished anything if I had only concentrated on hate? And believe me, I had plenty of hate: about in-equality, about feeling powerless to change things...Even about not being allowed to love who I love," he glanced at Bucky but didn't catch his eye and looked away again quickly,

"Had I concentrated on those things I would have died early and never done anything good at all. Instead, I focused on what few good I had in my life; Bucky, our small shared apartment, the people I was fighting for, art ... that's what I thought of every time I made an important decision. That's how I am here right now. It's not always easy, it's a constant conscious choice, but not impossible."  
Every word came straight from his heart, Bucky was sure of it. Suddenly he was so incredibly proud of them, of how far they'd come, but mostly of Steve who after all the pain he had lived through could still speak with so much hope.  
"See people? That's what makes him special, that's why I stuck to him. Always have, always will," he said smiling at Steve and the audience went wild as if that was the trigger they had been waiting for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed reading, if so, please please please leave a comment!   
> This chapter turned out a little (a lot) longer than I had expected it too, whoops....  
> I'll try to update within a week but I'm not sure if I'll have the time :/ because life is a thing.  
> Again, please comment, even if it's literally just a single letter reply 
> 
> The next chapter will focus a lot more on their relationship and feelings. promise.


	2. Chapter 2

Not even three hours later, there seemed to be no one in the world left who hadn't seen their interview. Returning to Avengers tower had been relatively eventless. They both needed to recharge and time to think. Once back at the tower, Tony and Pepper were already waiting for them.

Pepper, with a stern look on her face and a huge stack of papers in her hands, said she had only wanted to 'thank' them for giving her as the PR manager a heads up. Bucky and Steve exchanged guilty looks, they knew it hadn't been nice of them but warning her would have defeated their purpose. Pepper Potts wasn't the kind of woman you could argue with.

Had she known about their little plan, it would have simply not happened. She made it very clear that anything in the like wasn't to happen again and unmuted her phone which appeared to be about to explode with the sheer amount of messages she was receiving. Instantly it began ringing, she muted it again and shot them a dirty look before turning on her heel and stalking down the empty corridor.

Steve, Bucky and Tony remained silent till the rhythmic clicking of her heels against the polished white floor couldn't be heard anymore. Having felt uncannily small under Peppers glare, Steve couldn't help but note that Tony really liked to have some kind of threat in his life at all times. Once she was gone, Tony offered them a drink, they declined, Tony rolled his eyes, it was a game that went on whenever they met with no one else around.

"Have it your way then," Tony shrugged and poured himself a glass of whiskey that, if Steve guessed correctly, cost more then the monthly rent of his and Bucky's' old apartment. "If you think Peppers reaction was bad, wait till you go online. That little stunt you pulled is all over social media." Steve didn't know what to say, what Tony expected him to say. The man with his overly big brain sometimes forgot that others needed more than half a sentence to understand context. Especially if it came from him.

Bucky appeared increasingly uncomfortable, shifting his weight from one leg to the other and standing half a step behind Steve. When Buckys' sanity and will of his own had been successfully recovered, Tony had had to acknowledge that the person in front of him wasn't the one who killed his parents. Physically, yes. But in the end, Bucky was the gun and not the one pulling the trigger.

So, naturally, Tony threw himself into a long week of binge drinking and misery. Until one remarkable day when he showed up at Avengers Tower, at 9 in the morning. Still halfway drunk, he loudly declared to a group of startled Avengers having breakfast, that he "wasn't mad about Barnes being alive and healthy. Or at Barnes at all, but at the thought that it was nearly damn impossible to find whoever had actually killed his parents since it clearly hadn't been Barnes." Nobody knew how to react.

Bucky generally still wasn't speaking much at the time, yet he was the first one to react. He timidly stated that he'd gladly help hunt down every last person involved with Hydra. Everyone nodded, offered help, tried to cheer Tony up. It wasn't one of those big heroic moments but a determined agreement among friends. They looked at each other and knew they had an endless amount of work ahead of them.

They had been a better team ever since. No one wanted to be that one asshole who messed up the big mission. Understanding what Tony was all about had surely helped everyone to accept his quirks if nothing else. After that surreal moment of team building was over, Bucky now clearly a part of them, Tony had offered for Buck to officially move into Avengers Tower. Before that, he had practically lived in the medical ward, since he had to be there every other hour for check-ups. Steve had practically lived there with him which evidently annoyed the rest of the team.

As soon as Tony offered Bucky his own quarters, Steve without thinking asked to move Buckys space and his own together. He'd always move to where Bucky was, where ever that might be. He hadn't thought before speaking and it could have been terribly embarrassing but to his luck, Bucky nodded along immediately agreeing with his idea. Tony had been rather perplexed and they had gotten more than a few confused looks but no one said anything and so it was agreed. Tony passed out on the couch shortly after that.

A day later, their few belongings were moved and both finally had a place to call home again. Tonys' drinking habits returned to what he called normal in the following days as well. Steve wasn't sure how much of that morning Tony even remembered.

Now Steve glanced over his shoulder and offered Bucky a small reassuring smile before he turned back. Tony still looked expectantly at them, and maybe there was something like an amused glimmer in his eyes. Or maybe Steve was starting to imagine things. It had already been a long day and it was only 12 am, he thought and eyed the glass of whiskey in Tonys' hand with new curiosity. Early for a drink, even for him. Tony followed his gaze and dismissed it with a swift gesture, putting the half-full glass down on a table.

Bucky awkwardly cleared his throat, "how bad is it?" Trying for a nonchalant expression Tony said, "that depends on how you define 'bad'," and commanded Friday to show them some of the peoples reactions. Friday projected everything right onto the white wall behind the bar, they sat down on the bar stools and watched. Hundreds and hundreds of tweets, Instagram posts, videos, pictures and texts from different platforms rushed down on them in a chaotic fight for attention. It was impossible to focus long enough on any of them to get real information, they seemed to be duplicating by the second.

Tony stood up forcefully, "Friday, stop the projection." It all disappeared as fast as it had shown up and Tony sank back down on his stool, shaking his head. "Not how I wanted this to work. I guess I'll just give you the summary," he said apologetically. Bucky still stared at the white wall, "what the actual hell was that?" Steve was suddenly tempted to accept that drink Tony had offered him but he stayed silent and just waited for the promised explanation.

"Ok, so first of all the good news; you pissed off the people you had wanted to piss off. Couldn't have been more successful with that," Tony said gleefully, "Every ignorant person who was hiding behind the idea that you are the symbol of what America stands for just had the shock of their life," Tony was now rambling and Steve wondered when the last time was that the guy had gotten more than three hours of sleep. "-The brilliance behind it is, you are still that symbol, they were just wrong about what exactly you stand for. Honestly, congratulations. I've never seen that many angry idiots and bigots as today after your interview, it was a joy to watch," not for poor Pepper, Steve noted absentmindedly and made a mental note to send her some flowers.

"-Remind me to take you guys out for dinner, you earned it," Tony didn't seem to know where to stop. It occurred to Steve at that moment that maybe whatever else he had to say was so uncomfortable that he tried to deflect from it, to win time. Suddenly rather uneasy, he carefully interrupted him, "What's the bad news then? We got what we wanted, nothing to worry about, right?" Tony fell silent, a weird mixture of amusement and discomfort in his eyes. "Okay, so how do I lay that gently on you," he bit his lip while thinking, "I've got it! Friday please show us Caps interview from today."

Before the video started, Tony muted it and turned to face them again. "I think I should probably explain some stuff first, since this whole century is still kind of new and confusing for you old people," he insisted. Steve raised his eyebrows and Bucky offered his best 'cut the bullshit' expression. "I mean, even if the consequences of today might be a bit," he paused, "interesting, they won't lead to anyone trying to kill you, so that's a start," Tony said and clasped his hands together. "Setting the bar a bit low there, aren't we?" Bucky deadpanned. Tony snorted, "yeah because you guys are known for never getting in that kind of trouble," he rolled his eyes and Steve thought the tension was actually going to kill him, he had no clue what to expect. "Tony, just get to the point," he tried to push, they were talking in a circle.

"Okay, so, you know how you listed a bunch of your opinions on different things in that interview? Like racism and gun control and women's rights? Well in today's society there is another civil rights movement that a lot of people consider to come hand in hand with those other groups. Ever heard of the LGBT+ community?" Tony asked, now completely in the lecture mode he usually got when explaining his newest invention.

They both shook their heads. "I don't get it," Bucky said, "are some people actually mad we forgot to explicitly put one movement on that list? One that we didn't even know existed? If it's civil rights were for it. No matter whose civil rights, I thought we made that pretty clear, so what's the issue?" Steve waited expectantly, for once letting Bucky do the talking. He couldn't have said it better himself anyways and his confusion grew with every second. "No," Tony continued, now with a pained expression due to their lack of understanding. "You know how in your time men in the army who were a little too close with each other were shunned or kicked out?"

Steve shrugged uncomfortably, "never really understood why. Shouldn't be anybody's business as long as they can be trusted on the field. Bucky nodded.

"That's all you have to say about that? Wasn't that whole hunting down gay people a really big deal in your time?" Tony clearly waited for a response from them, the way he looked at them he was expecting a weirded out reaction at best. Both Steve and Bucky just shrugged. Bucky tilted his head and seemed to be lost in thought, "so, that's legal now? That's, that's good I think. Never knew many gay people. Or maybe I did and they were just real careful, I don't know. But no one should have to hide who they love, right?" He looked over at Steve who only nodded, seemingly at a loss for words and avoiding his gaze.

"Good," Tony said, "I'm glad you two really don't have the mindset of your time or else this could have been really awkward. Anyways, back to what I was going to say. The issue isn't that people think you forgot the LGBT movement. It's that they think you didn't."

Before either of them could ask what he meant by that he called for Friday, "turn up the volume and fast forward to the last three minutes." The video began playing, their own voices echoing through the big room. On-screen Steve was speaking, "I had plenty of hate: about in-equality, about feeling powerless to change things...Even about not being allowed to love who I love," his words were clear and pronounced and seemed a million miles away despite the video being from this very morning.

Tony paused the video, "Rogers honestly, if I didn't know any better I'd think you did that on purpose. You say that, and then you look at Barnes for a solid minute? Mentioning how you guys used to live together and that sickeningly heart-warming story of how he saved your life didn't exactly help the situation either."

Steve felt his stomach drop. Now there was no way Bucky didn't realize what was really going on. Not after Tony literally spelled it out for him. He immediately felt like protesting, defending himself or somehow deflecting attention which really wasn't his strongest field.

"but it's the truth," Bucky insisted, remaining calm. Steves' head was spinning, the whole situation was spiraling more out of his control with every second. What was Bucky onto now? Didn't he mind at all? Then again, Bucky had always been spectacularly unbothered by other peoples opinions. He just looked at Steve for a long time before he said, "what did you mean by that anyways?" Steves felt cold all over, this couldn't be happening. That was the one question he hoped Bucky wouldn't ask. How was he supposed to answer that?

'Oh, by the way, I've been in love with you since I know what love is but never had the guts to tell you so I decided to suffer in silence instead' sure, that would work. He wasn't even quite sure why he had brought it up in the interview. He locked eyes with Bucky who still waited for his answer, calm and without giving away even a trace of what went on in his head. It wasn't like he had kept that from Bucky because he wanted to lie to him, it had simply been necessary.

Sometimes, when Buck had been just a little too affectionate, he'd allowed himself to dream that if it wasn't a punishable crime then maybe they'd have a future together. All abstract dreams, with an undefined relationship between them. There had been times were Bucky had canceled dates last minute to stay home with him. There also had been times were Steves' jealousy got the best of him and he'd outright told Bucky that he didn't like the girl he was going out with. It didn't happen a lot but whenever it did Bucky immediately canceled every plan he had with that girl and never mentioned her again. He should feel guilty but if he was being honest he was just grateful.

Once they found each other in this new century their relationship had shifted. Neither knew what kind of closeness was acceptable and what wasn't. Bucky was still trying to remember who he was. When it was just the two of them, they were still struggling to figure out their old dynamic. For a short time of painful acceptance before he got Bucky back he had been convinced that he was over those confusing feelings.

Hell, he even had dared to wonder if they might have been only an illusion. After all he never truly worked out what it was he was feeling until it was too late. Was it so unlikely that he had just made it all up, interpreted more then there was into what they had because he missed him so bad? The only thing he did know was that he wasn't going to risk what they had for anything, and that he regretted what he said during the interview. The truth was, he was at a loss for words. There was nothing he could say that wasn't either a lie or would destroy what they did have. The silence between them grew longer, more uncomfortable, yet there were no words he could force out, no matter how much he wanted to.

Tony cleared his throat, "As intriguing as whatever unspoken old secrets passing between you two might be, can we go back to the part were neither of you gave a damn that 3/4 of the world think you're infinitely in love with each other?" He looked absolutely gobsmacked.

Thank god, Steve thought, at least that gave him some time. Bucky, on the other hand, appeared endlessly annoyed. What a mess. Evil guys striving for world domination he could deal with but this just sucked. The fact that almost everyone who had seen the video had seen right through him didn't help. He just hoped Bucky wouldn't be too irritated by the rumors.

When Steve finally turned to face Bucky he found his friend looking back at him with a calculating stare and deep in thought. Immediately Steves' heart clenched, that couldn't mean anything good, he would bet that this mess was about to get even worse. Bucky spoke carefully and deliberately, never breaking eye contact, "Do you mind the rumors?" Steve reacted out of instinct, he shook his head, still unable to speak and his heart hammering like crazy.

Buckys lips curled into a small smile and he turned to Tony, "and you said it pisses off those same bigots who are mad at everything Steve said this morning?" Tonys uncertainty was written all over his features, he had failed to calculate where Barnes was going with this and it made him rather uneasy, still, he answered, "without a doubt. That was the perfect little addition, the last detail needed to get you all this attention and set a real statement. Especially since those people like to pretend that gay people only started to exist in the last ten years."

Bucky grinned and tilted his head, "Then lets just not say anything. See how crazy they go if we neither confirm or deny anything. They all missed a big part of our message which was that we are trying to keep our privat lifes out of the news. If they can't respect that, let them lose their minds over it.

**Author's Note:**

> Hiiiiiiiii and thank you so much for reading! Comments and Kudos are highly appreciated, so is criticism but please be kind. This fic has not been Beta'd and English isn't my first language. I hope you enjoyed! Please share your thoughts with me in the comments :)
> 
> This work is set to have 3-4 chapters, possibly more depending on feedback.


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